Shale was originally founded under the name The Cat’s Figment as a Jury Project for the Gaines Center for the Humanities. Since its inception, it has been run by Gaines fellows who have successively widened the journal's reach to include more of the undergraduate creative writing community. In 2011, The Cat's Figment was renamed Shale as a nod of respect and admiration for the graduate literary journal, Limestone. The change was also to reflect our new partnership with the Writing Center, as we shared the common goal of improving the undergraduate writing community. Shale now has formed a partnership with the English Department, as well as an association with the Office of International Affairs. The latter association is to reflect Shale's new aim of incorporating poetry and prose in world languages into the creative community that we hope to foster. Other partners include WRFL radio; the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence; English honor society Sigma Tau Delta; Graphite Creative Writing Association; and the Bloomsbury Group.

Shale is run by the philosophy of opportunity. We hope to provide the opportunity for passionate undergraduates to publish their art in written or visual form. We maintain this philosophy when it comes to the composition of our staff.

Staff

Shale is run by a volunteer staff, with potential turnover in each publication cycle. The majority of our staff members happen to be English majors interested in the editing and publication processes. To join staff, email shaleuk@gmail.com (“shaleuk” at “gmail” dot “com”) with relevant editing, design, or marketing experience. We are looking for freshmen and sophomores especially.

CONTACT: On Facebook under "Shale Literary Journal" and on Twitter as @ShaleJournal